


A Bag of Tricks

by goodmythicalshipping



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: First Kiss, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, M/M, Middle School, One Shot, Seven Minutes In Heaven Game, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Trick or Treating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 10:34:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21251981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodmythicalshipping/pseuds/goodmythicalshipping
Summary: In a sudden turn of events, middle schoolers and best friends Rhett and Link receive a bit more than just candy on Halloween night.





	A Bag of Tricks

The scent of warm sugar and burning wood permeated through the dimly lit streets of Buies Creek, as children of all ages, dressed in costumes from such hit movies as _Terminator_ and the _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_, scoured doorsteps for seasonal treats. A full moon hung above the horizon, shining a faint light on the neighborhood’s many rooftops, each letting out puffs of chimney smoke that soon vanished into the cool autumn air. Already hoisting large bags of goodies over their shoulders, a group of enthusiastic eighth-graders approached their next house.

“Hurry up!” one of them hollered back toward the rest of the group that dragged on behind him. “I heard this house gives out mega-sized Push Pops!”

“You’ve said that about nearly every house!” a girl chimed in, causing the first boy to mutter under his breath as he raced ahead of her to the front door. At the rear of the group trekked two slender boys, the taller one dressed as Batman and the shorter as Robin. Shaking his pillowcase, which was nearly filled to the brim with sweets, the smaller brunette looked up at his friend.

“Whadd’ya think, bo? Y’think I got enough room here for another bag of Sour Patch Kids?” Link chirped.

“D’ya even like Sour Patch Kids?” the blonde laughed. “Yer gonna have a lotta candy to sort through once we get back, and I bet’cha half of it’s goin’ t’me!”

“You wish, McLaughlin!” Link retorted, grinning widely. “Race ya t’the porch!”

And with that, the two boys nearly tripped on the lawn on their way to beat each other to their neighbors’ patio, with Rhett just barely pulling ahead due to his long legs.

“See, what’d I tell ya? Y’owe me two Airheads fer that one, bo,” Rhett claimed, to which Link rolled his eyes. As the group held out their bags to be filled, another boy looked at the brightly-colored Surf Leash Shark watch on his wrist.

“Hey, it’s gettin’ t’be pretty late, m’legs are startin’ to ache,” he announced to the troop of kids surrounding him. “Should we head back t’my place?”

Nodding in agreement, the band of exhausted children made their way to the boy’s parents’ house, descending into the basement to exchange prizes and enjoy the rest of their evening.

“Annnnnd I’ll be takin’ those!” Rhett stated, scooping up a red and blue Airhead from Link’s pile.

“Hey! I didn’t think y’were serious!” Link frowned.

“I won fair ‘n square, bo!” the older boy answered. “Don’t worry, I’ll give ya my box of Nerds for ‘em.”

The blue-eyed boy smiled at Rhett’s gesture, face reddening slightly at his kindness. The group soon found themselves immersed in _The Goonies_, which played on the large box television set in front of them. As the two boys sat next to each other on the couch, surrounded by their classmates, Rhett draped one of his lengthy arms over Link’s head and behind the cushion. To anyone else, this would mean nothing. However, given their proximity, Link found himself blushing an even deeper shade of pink. He tried to focus his gaze on the screen and silently prayed that his sidekick mask shielded his now-rosy cheeks. He occasionally peeked up at his superhero counterpart through his peripheral vision, who was seemingly unaffected by their closeness.

About an hour of the film went by before one brown-haired girl dressed as Scarlett O’Hara yawned and suddenly spoke up.

“I’m bored!” she exclaimed. “Anyone wanna play a game instead?”

Almost instantly, the movie was paused and the children debated on what they should play, suggesting games such as hide and seek versus truth or dare. Finally, somehow, the group unanimously decided on “7 Minutes in Heaven,” much to Link’s chagrin. He had never kissed anyone before, despite previously having one girlfriend. Therefore, he was wildly inexperienced when it came down to it. He wasn’t sure if the same applied to Rhett, who normally shared everything with him. Still, it was possible Rhett would have kept the details of his love life a secret from him up until this point…

The pre-teens sat in a large circle in the center of the room, placing an empty Coke bottle in the middle. One girl started the game and, soon enough, one by one they paired off, disappearing down the hall and into the large closet, only to return minutes later. With each spin, Link’s heartbeat increased, using all of his mental energy to wish that it wouldn’t land on Rhett.

As they went around the room, it seemed that the dark-haired boy had gotten his wish, as no girl in the room landed on his taller friend. Rhett pouted, eager for it to finally be his turn.

“Hey, what gives?” he whined. “How’s it we’ve been at this fer nearly 30 minutes, and no one’s picked me yet?!”

“Quit yer wailin’, Rhett,” another boy rebutted, handing him the bottle. “S’yer turn anyway!”

Rhett just gawked at it, quickly becoming very quiet. Link watched him in suspense as Rhett gulped, almost loudly enough to be the only noise in the room. The green-eyed boy felt the area around his brow become damp, not letting it show since he was wearing what was almost a full-face mask.

“S’matter, McLaughlin? Y’chicken?” the boy taunted, clucking as their classmates giggled along.

“No way!” Rhett countered, snatching the bottle out of the boy’s hand and planting it in front of him. Link’s eyes widened as he spun it swiftly, unknowingly gaping at it as it slowed down and at long last landed on…

...him.

Link couldn’t do anything but just stare at the glass bottle pointed directly at him, as if he was frozen in place. The other children let out a gasp as Rhett bulged out his eyes in terror.

“Ha! Rhett’s gotta kiss Link!” another girl declared, allowing the other children to whoop loudly. Link began to panic, slowly raising his head to meet his best friend’s equally-stunned gaze. Rhett, his best friend since the first grade… and now he was supposed to be his first kiss?! Both completely unsure of what to do in that moment, they were soon blindly lifted off the floor by their friends and shoved down the hallway toward the walk-in closet. They didn’t even have enough time to process what was happening before they were pushed inside, hearing a boy’s voice on the other side of the closed door.

“Yer seven minutes starts now, don’t come out until yer time’s up!” he teased, cackling as he walked away.

Inside the closet, the two friends could barely make out each other’s faces in the dark. The shorter boy trembled, feeling like he was going to implode. Rhett was just as overwhelmed and the two just stood there in silence, letting some minutes pass before deciding to take action. As Rhett was about to speak up, the other boy began rambling.

“Hey, uh, listen Rhett,” Link ranted. “I know they threw us in here expectin’ us t’do somethin’, but you should know that I don’t expect nothin’ from ya! I dunno what you’ve done before or who with, but I’ve never kissed anyone and was kinda hopin’ it would be somethin’ special… not that it wouldn’t be with you! I’d actually really like t’kiss ya, only if that’s what you wanted, but- oh gosh, this is comin’ out wrong… y’know what I mean, right? I don’t wanna make y’do anythin’ you don’t wanna, or if y’do at least not like this, but-”

Ripping off his bat mask, the brunette was suddenly cut off by Rhett’s soft lips pressing against his, startling him as Rhett moved to embrace the shorter boy. The kiss was awkward at first, with both of them not knowing what to do next. A brief moment passed before they eased into it, and soon Link’s own arms were wrapped around the taller boy’s neck to bring him closer as their lips moved slowly in perfect rhythm. Link’s tanned skin turned a bright shade of crimson as Rhett craned his neck down to deepen the kiss.

Needing to catch their breath, the duo finally separated and looked into each other’s eyes beaming.

“Wow,” Link breathed out, causing Rhett to chuckle.

“Hey, if m’bein’ honest, Link… that was my first kiss, too.”

“Really?” Link questioned. “...well, what’d y’think of it?”

“...y’taste like Nerds.”

“Shut up!” Link squealed, playfully smacking Rhett’s arm as they both chortled, leaving the enclosed space to regroup with the others.

Ironically, Halloween had never been so sweet.


End file.
